DfE vows to get on top of crumbling school buildings crisis
The cross-party Education Committee has published the Government’s response to its ‘Foundations of learning’ report on improving the school estate.
In its report, the Committee warned that “incremental fixes” to the school estate would not suffice. It called for the Government to publish its promised estate strategy without delay, setting clear milestones for reducing the maintenance backlog and replacing life-expired buildings.
The Government has now published its education estate strategy and in a positive response to the Committee’s recommendations, the Government says it is investing £20 billion in school rebuilding projects, £3 billion per year by 2034-35 in improving the condition of the school estate, and £700 to 2029-30 in renewing school buildings to adapt to climate change.
The Committee also urged the Government to ensure that investment in school rebuilding and repairs not only addresses safety concerns but also supports inclusive education for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).
In response, the Government says it is committing £3.7 billion by 2029–30 to create 60,000 specialist SEND places and will publish new guidance this year to help schools adapt buildings to be more accessible. All projects under the School Rebuilding Programme will be assessed to ensure they include appropriate space for inclusion bases, aligning future investment with the goal of making mainstream schools inclusive for all pupils.
It also says that from autumn 2026 it will ask bodies responsible for managing school buildings to confirm they are meeting School Estate Management Standards through a digital service. Bodies not meeting these standards will be given a plan to improve estate management within 12 months.
The Government explained that work on asbestos in schools is being taken forward by the Health and Safety Executive as part of wider work including a census or survey approach to understanding the scale of asbestos.
